


Going Green

by noo



Category: The Avengers (2012)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-06-12
Updated: 2012-06-12
Packaged: 2017-11-07 13:33:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,829
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/431730
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/noo/pseuds/noo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Pepper knows just how to get Tony thinking the way she wants him to. Bruce is only too willing to help...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Going Green

Tony ignored the fact that he was bouncing up and down on his toes like a little kid waiting for a treat. Sure, Pepper reminded him on a regular basis of all his childlike habits, but she loved each and every one, ‘cause _he_ did them. He tossed the small photovoltaic panel up in the air, catching it easily on its downward trajectory.

“JARVIS,” he said as he looked at his reflection in the polished door of the elevator, tugging slightly on his vintage ACDC t-shirt, making it fall just right.

“Yes, Sir?” JARVIS replied, prompt as ever.

“Remind me to look at increasing the speed of the elevator.”

“Certainly, Sir, although Miss Potts has stipulated that all adjustments to the Tower require approval through the appropriate Occupational Health and Safety channels.”

“JARVIS, whose name is on this tower?”

“Currently no one’s, Sir. Just the letter A.”

Lucky for JARVIS, the doors to the top floor opened and Tony was able to spy the man he had been waiting to speak to. He was pretty sure he didn’t like exactly where Bruce was sitting. Or the way Pepper was leaning into him with that smile on her face, the one that promised everything. She didn’t have to lean far, because they were both sitting on the floor side by side. There was a whole room that could easily fit every member of the Avengers, including Bruce’s other guy, the big green rage monster. There were even some chairs! But no, she and Bruce were sitting as close as two people could without involving osmosis. And cushions, when did his room get cushions?

Pepper had a glass of wine in her hand, the light caught the pale liquid and reflected highlights in her hair as she waved the glass carelessly in the air. It had been a while since Tony had seen her so relaxed. She had spared him a quick glance when he came into the room, but was back to telling Bruce something. Quietly. Right into his ear.

Bruce’s smile got wider as Pepper spoke.

“Don’t let me interrupt,” Tony said as he wandered over to the bar. He could see the pair of them reflected in the tiles on the wall. He put the photovoltaic panel down, letting his fingers run over the smooth nanocells before he put his phone on the bench as well. Bruce should have been working in the lab, but no, Tony had to ask JARVIS where he was and had been told that he was ‘taking a break’. Bruce was smart, a genius, but Tony did not like it, the way Pepper and he were still ignoring him while lost in their own little conversation.

Tony made a show of pouring himself a glass of scotch, while his left hand was pulling up the coding on his phone to allow him to listen in to the conversation taking place over on the other side of the room. When there was no response, he lifted his phone up to check what on earth was going wrong. He hadn’t put in the wrong instruction and yet, it still wasn’t working.

Tony had to hold in a groan, Pepper had just stretched out those gorgeous long legs of hers and rubbed them slowly together. The way her toes curled just like when Tony was licking a path up her leg.

Okay, so Pepper was gorgeous and fuck it, Bruce had noticed with the look he was giving her legs. He might be this big ball of anger, but Tony knew he wasn’t stupid or blind. Tony might let him play with his toys, but not with Pepper.

Bruce and Pepper looked in his direction and only then did Tony realize that he had smacked the glass down on the bench. There was a crack in the crystal and scotch had sloshed over onto his hand. He sucked the scotch off his hand, noting the little smirk on Pepper’s face and the confusion on Bruce’s. Grabbing the panel, he left his glass and phone and wandered over to the sunken area.

His eyes narrowed as he saw Pepper once again whisper something in Bruce’s ear, which caused Bruce to turn to her with a big grin, before he turned back to face Tony. Bruce’s hand was on his knee and with the smallest of movements he could touch Pepper on her soft skin.

Tony tossed the panel in the air, knowing that Bruce would catch sight of it. Sure enough he did, looking at it initially in confusion and then recognition hit him.

“Is this?” Bruce asked, “You got it to work?”

“Went looking for you, but it seemed you decided to play hooky.” Tony looked away from Bruce, who had pulled his glasses out of his pocket and was putting them on, obviously in preparation to look closer at the cell. “Enjoying yourself Miss Potts?” Tony asked.

“I was,” Pepper replied, leaning forward and cupping her hand around Bruce’s ear and speaking into it quietly.

Bruce chuckled lowly.

“Told you it would be a piece of cake to make it work, want to come test it?”

“We’re having an afternoon off,” Pepper interjected.

“He’s not a Stark employee, so you can’t give him an afternoon off,” Tony snapped back.

“That means you can’t order him around either.”

“What do you mean afternoon off? Who are you and what have you done with Pepper? Bruce, did that skinny, Wagner reject, demi-God come back again and decide to impersonate Pepper this time? Maybe I’ll see if Point Break can actually surf this time.” Tony mused a little to himself on the perfect surfer hair of Thor. The dude might have a hammer but he still looked more like a California surfer.

“I can take an afternoon off,” Pepper said, breaking into his thoughts.

“What happens if the stock drops half a percent? Won’t you need to start planning your evasive tactics to make it move back up again?”

“Are we really going to discuss percentages again? Because I have seen Bruce’s ‘other guy’ and he’s quite impressive.”

“I didn’t think green was your color,” Tony said. He walked over to the edge of the sunken part of the room to stare down at the maddening woman who didn’t look threatened by him for one moment.

“Oh, no Tony, I think it’s more yours.” Pepper smiled at him. “You are the _only_ name in green energy, remember?”

The whole little scene since his entering the room now started to make sense. Pepper was the ultimate cunning woman.

“You, Miss Potts, are a minx. You planned this,” Tony said as glared at her. “And you!” Tony turned his glare in Bruce’s direction.

Bruce was holding up his hands and trying not to laugh. He was failing miserably, his quiet chuckles escaping out.

“Oh no, keep me and my other guy out of this.” Bruce stood up, keeping his hands in the classic surrender position before he started to back away from the two of them.

Tony had a decision to make. Bruce was about to go and test the panel and do all the fun sciency things, but Pepper was there and teasing him without saying a word. She’d tried to make him jealous. Him, Tony Fucking Stark.

“C’mon Doctor, let’s leave her to her afternoon off,” Tony said, tossing the panel toward Bruce, knowing that it would distract him.

Bruce hesitated slightly and then made a quick, uncoordinated grab at the cell, cradling it carefully and flashing a look of disapproval at Tony. It wasn’t the first time, and Tony was sure it wouldn’t be the last, that he was on the receiving end of that sort of look. It got Bruce’s mind off Pepper’s little charade, though and focused on what Tony wanted.

“Bruce--” Pepper started to say but Tony held up a hand to stop her.

“You’ve had your fun, now it’s time for the good Doctor and I to have ours.”

Pepper had that look on her face, her mouth set in a stern little line, eyes narrowed just a touch. It was enough to scare the Board of Stark Industries and the majority of smart congressmen (only a small number of those existed, Tony knew).

“I, ah, I don’t need you,” Bruce said.

 _Okay, that wasn’t expected_ , Tony thought. He was always needed, even if it was to offer a comment at the right moment. That was _his_ panel, he had got it to work and he needed to be there to see Bruce getting it to power up his boron detector. Tony did like to call it the ‘boring detector’ because nuclear reactors were so 20th Century. Once those little detectors worked with the cell, then they could test its ability to power up greater technology. If no one else in the world could see the future, Tony sure was happy to make the millions they were missing out on.

“Sure you do, Doc. What other mind, apart from mine can keep up with yours? I wouldn’t trust JARVIS to give you the recognition you deserve when that works as I expect,” Tony said as he pointed at the cell, still being held gently by in Bruce’s cupped hand.

“I beg to differ, Sir,” JARVIS announced.

“Can it JARVIS, you weren’t invited to this conversation,” Tony ordered.

“If you insist, Sir.”

“You create something, and they just don’t give you any respect,” Tony observed.

“I wouldn’t know,” Bruce said.

“Tony hasn’t worked out that respect is earned,” Pepper said.

Her voice sounded a lot closer than Tony expected. A glance over his shoulder found her standing right behind him. She smiled at him and then walked past him, putting her arm through Bruce’s and heading them both over to the elevator.

“I am sure you need to start testing that panel and Tony would just be getting in your way. I know how that can be.”

The only way Tony was going to stop Bruce from getting in that elevator was to bodily haul Pepper away from him. When he saw her stand up on her toes and press a kiss to Bruce’s cheek, he thought the idea had merit .

Bruce looked a little shocked, but then he smiled at her and his grin got a little wider as he looked at Tony over her shoulder.

“Thank you, Pepper. I like the guy, but he is a bit of a child in a lab.”

“Not just in the lab,” Pepper added.

“Right over here,” Tony said as he waved his hand in the air.

“So you are.” Pepper had that ‘I’m humoring you’ look on her face again.

Bruce chuckled and stepped back into the elevator, reaching over to press the button. The last view Tony had of him was the slight sly smile on his face.

Pepper brought the glass she still held in her hand up to her lips to take another sip. She wasn’t moving from in front of the doors. If Tony wanted to go to the lab with Bruce, he would have to put his suit on.

“I really don’t want to get the glazers out again. They are not fond of the heights and we have to pay them extra,” Pepper pointed out.

Tony had glanced in the direction of his landing pad. A genius wouldn’t have been needed to figure out what he was thinking.

“You know he turns into a big green rage monster?” Tony pointed out, the question being mostly rhetorical.

“No? Really?” Pepper was looking at him mockingly. “I didn’t notice any of those tv reports of a big green guy saving your life.”

Tony took the opportunity to look Pepper over. She was in those little denim shorts that emphasized how long her legs were, bare feet and little t-shirt that didn’t quite meet the top of the shorts, so there was a flash of her smooth belly. It was a standard uniform of a co-ed and Pepper hadn’t been one of those for a very long time. It suited her though, casual and relaxed with her hair up in her no-nonsense ponytail.

“A little under-dressed there, Miss Potts,” Tony pointed out.

“I gave myself an afternoon off and thought I should give you one too.”

“How kind.”

“Yes, I rather think I am. Now, come over here,” Pepper ordered.

“Are you ordering me around?” Tony raised an eyebrow at her.

“Tony,” Pepper said with a tone he recognized easily as a warning.

Tony knew he had a smirk on his face as he started to walk slowly toward her.

He was waiting for her to start tapping her foot, but while there was a little twitch of her toes, the woman was resisting the temptation strongly. He loved it when Pepper lost her temper, all her cool facade dropped away. He was the only one who got to see it and he wanted to keep it that way.

He reached her and slowly wrapped his hand around the glass she was holding, waiting to see if she would let him take it. She did, watching him carefully while he lifted it up to sniff first and then taste to the wine. As it rolled smoothly across his tongue, he smiled when he was sure he recognised the taste.

“Kongsgaard? I _have_ improved your taste.”

He hid his smile as he leaned down quickly to put the glass on the ground, knowing that Pepper wouldn’t allow that comment to pass.

“I’ll have you know--” Pepper started to say before Tony stopped her speech in the most effective way he knew. With his mouth.

Pepper startled a little bit at first, obviously she wasn’t expecting how quick he would be in straightening up and kissing her.

Like always, there was a little stiffening from her--Tony knew that there was going to be a lot of stiffening from him shortly if the kiss went the way most of theirs normally did--before she relaxed and her arms wrapped around his shoulders.

For a woman who had hardly dated, she knew how to kiss. Tony didn’t want to think about how she got the experience, he knew it was shitty of him to care, what with his own years of experience, but Pepper was special and so he was a little old school. He let his hands slowly run down her back to rest on the sweet curve at the base of her spine. A little bit of pressure and she was arching toward him with her body and breathing out his name as she gently broke the kiss.

He watched as her eyelids slowly opened, gifting him with that heady, slumberous look of the well-kissed. He was pretty sure his own face was just as flushed.

“I think you are not casual enough,” Tony said quietly.

“Huh?” Pepper blinked a little in confusion, so Tony leaned in to kiss her again, feeling her soft skin rubbing against his and her hands playing gently with his hair.

His hand at the base of her spine, he slipped his fingers under her t-shirt to rub a little circle into her skin and slowly push the shirt upwards. Her kiss was undoing him, with her soft lips and clever tongue, and he needed her.

Pepper got the hint and started walking backwards toward the bedroom, not allowing their kiss to break. Her hands moved down his back as she pulled slowly on his t-shirt, her nails scraping a little on his skin when they found flesh.

He gave up pulling her top and raised his own arms up, leaning back so she could pull his t-shirt off.

“JARVIS, lock the elevator and I mean it this time,” Tony ordered. “No more ‘security breaches’!”

Pepper snickered.

“I promised there would be no more,” Tony said, watching the way her eyeline moved from his face and down his chest. She smiled as she reached a hand forward to run over the arc reactor.

“We’ll see. Not sure if this is a promise you can keep,” Pepper said as she ran her hand down from the reactor in little movements, teasing his skin and not quite reaching the destination he wanted her to.

“I know a promise I can keep, you little tease,” Tony replied, wrapping his arms around her and lifting her up so he could walk them quickly into the bedroom. He ignored her initial shriek of surprise.

He smiled as he looked up at her, her blonde hair loosened from his attentions, a flush on her cheeks and the gentle smile that he loved. Her hands held his face tenderly and she lowered her face to his, kissing him slowly at first and then harder, passion taking over.

He had every intention of showing her just how impressive he could be. She had planned this and he intended to make the most of his ‘afternoon off’.

**Author's Note:**

> Many thanks to my betas - aquila_star and dizilla


End file.
